A Glimpse of COLFA 2011-2012

Welcome to another edition of Ovations, highlighting the outstanding
achievements of students, faculty and supporters of the UTSA College of
Liberal and Fine Arts.

A Wide Aperture

Back in 2002, soon after I was appointed in the dean’s office, I received an invitation to the
UTSA College of Business Frost Distinguished Lecture. In those early days as dean I began
thinking of the challenges that were new to me, especially about how we were preparing our
students for the real world. How did our general courses in English, political science and history,
and more esoteric studies, like Enlightenment philosophy or German language and culture, ready
graduates for success? Such questions were on my mind the morning I strode next door to learn
more about what was going on in our very fine business college.

I took my seat in the packed 302-seat auditorium, among mostly undergraduate business majors.
The honored speaker was Ernest Bromley, Chairman and CEO of Bromley Communications, the
nation’s largest Hispanic advertising agency. “I’m often asked how to best get on track for success in
the business world,” he began. “The first thing I say is, get an undergraduate degree in liberal arts.”

I refrained from jumping up and shouting, “Yes!” — but only with great difficulty. It turns out
that Mr. Bromley had been a UTSA political science major. In the years that followed that lecture
I often took courage from his remark and from his personal example. All of the UTSA colleges do
an outstanding job of building the future for our students and our community, but in this regard
COLFA, with its complement of arts, humanities, and social science disciplines, was second to none.

Fast-forward to the Fall 2012 UTSA Alumni Gala. In one of the highlights of the evening, it was
announced that Ernest Bromley and his wife Aimee had just committed $250,000 for scholarships
in the liberal arts at UTSA. I made my way to their table to thank them, and told Mr. Bromley
how his comment long ago had affected me. I was touched by their generosity and even more so by
their graciousness. Not only did he remember the speech and the advice, but he also immediately
expanded on the importance of a liberal arts education. “It gives you a wide aperture,” he said.

The scope of the liberal arts at UTSA is once again celebrated in the following pages. Our stories
feature hardworking faculty and staff, loyal donors, and the students themselves, all contributing to
an innovative, progressive learning experience, one which offers the most beneficial combination of
light and focus, one only available through a “wide aperture.”